Wharfedale 20 Esher 19: Jordan is Dale hero as Knights maintain fine start

Esher travelled north hoping to maintain their excellent start to this season and started the stronger of the two sides and hardly broke sweat in taking a 6-0 lead after five minutes with two penalties from Luke Daniels.

Back came Wharfedale and good pressure resulted in a penalty from Tom Barrett.

Esher replied with another penalty by Daniels to make the score 9-3.

Esher’s line worked well all afternoon and it was from this platform that they moved first left and then stretched the defence running right. Good numbers and good support led to Daniels scoring a fine try which he could not convert.

Wharfedale responded again and two more penalties from Barrett meant an entertaining first half had the visitors in front 14-9.

Dale were playing with the slope and a slight breeze in the second half. They started well but fell further behind with another unconverted try from Daniels after good running and support play from Esher.

Wharfedale mounted more and more pressure and the boot of Barrett brought them to within four points with 10 minutes to go. Wharfedale sensed a deserved victory and took the match with a try in the last minute by Scott Jordan. For once Barrett did not convert but the home support which had helped in this fine win went home rejoicing.

Doncaster Knights made it five wins out of five, each with a bonus point, as they outscored similarly fast-starting Fylde at Castle Park, 29-24.

From an attacking maul, scrum-half Ryan de la Harpe got Fylde off the mark before Oliver Brennand found space to score the visitors’ second try and really begin to panic the unbeaten Yorkshire club.

But after declining a penalty in front of the posts, Doncaster’s ambition was rewarded when Dougie Flockhart crossed.

Although he missed the conversion, Flockhart’s later penalty meant the Knights trailed 10-8 at the break.

Forwards Roberto Santamaria and Phil Eggleshaw scored for Clive Griffiths’s side in a blistering start to the second period that turned the match.

Fylde hit back through Christopher Johnson but Bruno Bravo burrowed over for the Knights’ bonus-point try, Flockhart converting for the third time in a much stronger second-half showing by Doncaster.

The victory sees them edge three points clear of Loughborough at the top of National One.